


Turn It Inside Out So I Can See.

by firequakes



Category: Super Junior, 소녀시대 | Girls' Generation | SNSD
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-07
Updated: 2011-08-07
Packaged: 2019-07-06 08:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15882738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firequakes/pseuds/firequakes
Summary: Hyoyeon starts running into Donghae everywhere.





	Turn It Inside Out So I Can See.

**Author's Note:**

> for compatable @lj, the one person i will ever write snsd for. (probably.) also, the title is from a michelle branch song; originally posted @ livejournal.

It's five years after high school for him, and three for her, when they bump into each other at a 24/7 convenience store.  
  
Donghae is there because it's pouring outside, and he doesn't have an umbrella with him. He was going to buy one inside the store, but he had been sidetracked by the sight of spicy instant ramen, seemingly perfect for the weather. He also gets a cheap magazine that he's just absentmindedly flipping through as he slurps his cup ramen, waiting for it to stop raining outside.  
  
  
Hyoyeon, on the other hand, is there because she's on her way home from a study group, and her roommate had called her, asking her to do an ice cream run before heading home.  
  
"But it's already so wet and  _cold_  and dreary," Hyoyeon had complained over the phone. "Why on Earth are you craving for ice cream  _now_?"  
  
"Ice cream is good for any occasion," was the answer she had gotten. "And I like cold things during cold weather."  
  
Hyoyeon had just sighed. What Jessica wants, Jessica gets, so here she is, about to pay for Jessica's lonely pint of ice cream when he approaches her.  
  
"Hi," he says, a smile on his face, and a lovely dimple at the corner of his mouth.  
  
The greeting is said in a way that indicates she should be remembering him from somewhere, and she kind of does, but at the same time, she's not exactly sure from where.  
  
"Hi." She chooses to just return the word, and the smile that came along with it.  
  
He chuckles. "You don't remember me, do you?" he asks.  
  
 _Oops._  Caught.  
  
She smiles sheepishly, and shakes her head.  
  
"No, not really. Sorry."  
  
"I'm Donghae, Hyukjae's friend," he says, waving a hand as if it doesn't really matter that she's forgotten him. "You  _do_  remember Hyukjae, don't you?"  
  
And Hyukjae, of course, she remembers. He was a boy from the neighborhood she grew up in, the one she sometimes refers to in her head as her one that got away, except he isn't really that, because until present time, she isn't really sure if she had ever liked him in  _that_  way. He was three years older, and he had graduated high school just as she was about to enter it. But mostly, Hyoyeon was never able to make sure how she felt for him because she never got the chance— her family moved away right after she finished junior high school. Still, with just the mention of his name, everything suddenly clicks in Hyoyeon's head.  
  
"Right! Donghae-oppa!" she exclaims with a finger snap. "You used to come and hang out with Hyukjae and Junsu!"  
  
Donghae laughs. "Yes, and every time you would pass by, Hyukjae would shout and call you Takk Hyo, and you'd scream at him and run around and chase after him. Sometimes with an umbrella, which was kind of funny," he says, letting out a snort. "Watching the two of you were like watching a real life cartoon. But you were cute. I think Hyukjae liked you."  
  
Hyoyeon blushes, despite herself.  
  
"So, how have you been?" she questions him instead. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Waiting for the—" and then he pauses to turn his head and peer through the windows. "Rain to stop, which it has."  
  
"Oh," Hyoyeon nods, also turning to see if it really has.  
  
"Well," Donghae says, with a huge smile, "I'll get going before it starts again. I'll see you around Hyoyeonnie!"  
  
It isn't until Hyoyeon is pulling up her car in her apartment complex's parking lot that she realises Donghae remembered her name all on his own.  
  
It makes her smile.  
  
  
  
  
They start coming across each other everywhere after that. More precisely, Hyoyeon comes across Donghae everywhere after that.  
  
The first time is right outside her university. He's handing out flyers of some sort, and her brow furrows when she recognises him.  
  
"Hi," she says, the first one to make a greeting this time around. "What are you doing here?"  
  
His face breaks out into a huge grin when he sees her. He shoves a flyer into her hands. "Please drop by!" he tells her enthusiastically.   
  
Hyoyeon skims through the paper he'd given her— it's an announcement for a newly opened sushi place, cut-out discount coupons included at the bottom.  
  
"Come by soon," he tells her, grinning. "If you drop by while the promo is in effect, maybe I'll even treat you!"  
  
Hyoyeon laughs. "Maybe I just might take you up on that offer," she tells him.  
  
  
  
  
The next time she sees him isn't at a sushi restaurant though, but at a coffee shop instead. She drops by to meet a classmate and return a textbook she had borrowed a week earlier, and the smell of freshly ground coffee had tempted her to stay for just a little bit more even after her friend had hurriedly thanked her and ran out of the store, apparently off to catch another appointment.  
  
Hyoyeon is more than pleasantly surprised when she finds Donghae smiling at her from behind the counter.  
  
"You're a barista?" she asks. Surprised is still the keyword after all. "What happened to sushi?"  
  
Donghae laughs. "I was just handing out flyers for that store. I make coffee better than I roll sushi," he says. "I'm off in ten minutes, you can be my last customer for the day! What would you like?"  
  
Hyoyeon orders an iced Americano and chooses a cozy-looking seat by a corner. She puts on earplugs, and turns on her iPod, perfectly content to just listen to music by herself as she lets a short time pass, but then only one song later and Donghae is slipping into the seat across her.  
  
"My shift's over now," he tells her, still smiling. "Do you mind?"  
  
Hyoyeon looks at him and shrugs. She smiles as she takes out the buds from her ears.  
  
"You work here?" she asks, and it's obviously a stupid question since she  _did_  just order her current drink from him, but the words just rush out of her mouth without her thinking them through. She laughs at herself, and adds, "I mean, since when?"  
  
"A few months now," Donghae answers. "Every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays."  
  
"Just those three days?"  
  
Donghae nods. "I work a lot of other part-time jobs in between."  
  
"Like where else?" Hyoyeon asks, cocking her head to the side, genuinely curious.  
  
"Here and there," Donghae answers with a shrug. "I majored in IT in university. Do you see me working in IT?"  
  
Hyoyeon stares at him. She isn't really sure what she could picture him as.  
  
The corner of Donghae's mouth turns up, like a smirk, but not really. It's too sweet to be called a smirk. "Yeah, I really can't," he says. "So I'm working all these odd jobs in the meantime, trying to figure out what to do with my life."  
  
"Well that makes sense, I guess." Hyoyeon doesn't really see a plan like that working for her, but she thinks it kind of fits him.  
  
"Do you want to know how Hyukjae is?" Donghae asks. "Junsu too."  
  
Hyoyeon laughs. "You're still in contact with them? Are they still attached at the hip?"  
  
"Of course!" Donghae grins. "Junsu got a regular job recently at some magazine, so now he keeps giving me and Hyukjae shit. If you ask me, he's the boring one, already letting himself get absorbed by boring society."  
  
Hyoyeon laughs, and then she asks, "Where is Hyukjae working then?"  
  
"His family's eatery," Donghae answers. "Between you and me, I think he's going to make a career out of that."  
  
"That's still running?"  
  
Donghae nods. "And it will keep going forever if Hyukjae has his way. Probably."  
  
"That's nice," Hyoyeon says, smiling. She feels a little nostalgic. "I ate there a lot with my friends in junior high school."  
  
"I remember," Donghae says, with a laugh. "We used to go there a lot too. Do you want to stop by one of these days? I think Hyukjae would like that."  
  
Hyoyeon smiles, finishing what's left of her drink. "I think that would be nice."  
  
  
  
  
Except of course when they next see other, it's not at Hyukjae's family diner but at a bookstore instead.  
  
Hyoyeon and Jessica are looking at some design books that might possibly be helpful to one of their major subjects when he comes up to them, and enthusiastically aks, "How may I help you?"  
  
Hyoyeon laughs when she sees him, but somehow she isn't really that surprised anymore.  
  
"I assume this is one of your other part-time jobs?" she asks, smiling.  
  
Donghae nods. "Mhm," he says, and then he turns towards Jessica, who continues to skim through the book shelves. "Your friend is pretty."  
  
"Oh! Uh, yeah," Hyoyeon nods, realising she should probably introduce the two of them. "This is Jessica, my roommate."  
  
"Hi!" Donghae grins, and then points at his name tag. "I'm Donghae."  
  
Jessica nods at him, smiling a little. "Hello."  
  
"Do you girls need any help?" Donghae asks again.  
  
Jessica shakes her head.  
  
"Nah, I think we're good," Hyoyeon answers for the two of them.  
  
"Well, just ask," Donghae says. "Oh! By the way, I mentioned you to Hyukjae. He's curious about how you're doing and he says you should definitely drop by at their place any time. He really wants to see you!"  
  
"I will, then," Hyoyeon nods.  
  
"Great!" Donghae tells her. "Well I think that customer needs my help, but just call if you need anything!"  
  
Hyoyeon nods. "We will."  
  
Donghae turns to smile at Jessica once more, who just gives him a little nod. Hyoyeon immediately realises that he's fascinated with Jessica.  _Your friend is pretty_ , he had said. Hyoyeon bits her lip. They  _all_  go for Jessica first.  _Always._  
  
And then she rolls her eyes at herself, because it's not like she had wanted Donghae to go for her anyway.  
  
  
  
  
Hyoyeon is bored one afternoon, so she decides there's nothing wrong in visiting her old neighborhood to see an old friend.  
  
She feels nostalgic just driving along the streets, and she feels even more so when she enters the diner that Hyukjae's family runs. She spots him immediately clearing a table, and she can't help but let out a little snort. When he looks up, and sees her, she half-expects her heart to start pounding, but it doesn't at all.  
  
Hyukjae grins at her, and it's that same smile that she remembers— more gums than teeth.  
  
"Donghae said you might drop by one of these days," he tells her. "Our little Hyoyeonnie with the runny nose, who wakes up in the morning as early as the chickens do."  
  
Hyoyeon frowns at him, punching his arm lightly. "What does that even mean?!"  
  
Hyukjae laughs. "I don't know, I just remember I used to say that all the time."  
  
Hyoyeon orders food she remembers she used to eat all the time, and when the crowd thins, Hyukjae joins her, and they talk for a while, and he teases her a lot. Some time later, Junsu, who has been Hyukjae's best friend for as long as Hyoyeon can remember, shows up. Hyukjae shifts all the teasing towards him, and Hyoyeon just keeps laughing and laughing and  _laughing_  at their banter, and suddenly she feels like she's eleven years old again. They include her in some of the banter, and Hyoyeon remembers thinking when she was younger that this must be how it feels like to be a little sister to somebody.  
  
She grins when she realises that's just exactly how she sees Hyukjae (and alright, Junsu), and that this is how it's always been. He's just something like a big brother. Apparently she wears the silly smile on her face for too long though, because Hyukjae just has to mention it.  
  
"You look stupid," he tells her, laughing. "What are you grinning so idiotically about?"  
  
"Psh," Hyoyeon says, rolling her eyes and laughing right back. "Not any more stupid than  _you_  look everyday."  
  
"Ooh! Score!" Junsu laughs.  
  
Later, right after Hyoyeon declares that it's probably time for her to go, Donghae walks in through the entrance.  
  
"You're late!" Hyukjae hollers at him. "Hyoyeon is about to leave!"  
  
Everyone else is smiling and laughing good-naturedly, but Donghae's entire face suddenly just falls. "But I just arrived," he says, his mouth curved downwards into a pout.  
  
Hyoyeon wants to tell him he looks like a cute puppy, but she doesn't. Her heart strangely skips a beat.  
  
  
  
  
The next time they see each other is near the front entrance of an amusement park.   
  
Hyoyeon is pressing away keys on her phone, when a huge, furry bunny suddenly holds out a green balloon towards her. She stares at it, confused, and then hesitantly takes it. The bunny takes of it's head, and suddenly Hyoyeon is face to face with a smiling Donghae.  
  
She laughs. "Why am I not surprised that you work here as well?"  
  
Donghae just grins at her. "What are you doing here? Are you meeting someone? Do you—" he wiggles his eyebrows at her, "have a date?"  
  
Hyoyeon laughs again. "No, I'm just waiting for Jessica's sister.  _She_  has a date, but she's supposed to stay with us tonight, and Jessica's in the middle of a make-up exam so here I am, doing the good friend routine and picking Krystal up myself."  
  
"Jessica's sister, huh?"  
  
Hyoyeon isn't sure, it might just be her imagination but she think Donghae had on a slightly dazed look just for a second.  
  
"And  _you're_  working, obviously," Hyoyeon says. Her phone buzzes and she opens it to find a message from Krystal. She groans, "Apparently my charge has been waiting for me for over thirty minutes at a different exit. I have to go."  
  
"I have to work anyway," Donghae says, starting to put on his rabbit head back on. "Say hello to Jessica for me!"  
  
Hyoyeon is strangely annoyed by the time she meets Krystal, who is also kind of annoyed at having to wait longer than she expected to. It isn't really a fun ride on their way back to the apartment.  
  
  
  
  
A week later, Hyoyeon is only a little surprised when Jessica tells her "that guy from the book store, Donghae was it?" has asked her out on a date. She is, however, completely surprised when she asks what Jessica did, and Jessica admits to saying yes.  
  
"He's your type?" Hyoyeon asks, eyebrows shooting up.  
  
Jessica shrugs. "He's cute, I guess."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Okay," Hyoyeon nods.  
  
Jessica squints at her. "Do you have a problem with it? Do you like him? I can cancel."  
  
"No, no," Hyoyeon immediately denies. "Go out with him. Have lots of fun."   
  
She forces a smile on her face, and Jessica stares at her strangely.  
  
" _Really_ ," Hyoyeon insists.  
  
"Okay," Jessica shrugs. "I'll have fun."  
  
"Yeah. Do that."  
  
But three days after, when Hyoyeon hears Jessica arrive home from her date, she buries her head into her pillow, and pretends to be asleep. She's not sure why she feels so annoyed and awkward but she's starting to realise it might be because she actually  _likes_ Donghae.  
  
Jessica knocks on her door, and Hyoyeon doesn't answer, hoping Jessica will get a hint and head straight to her room. She hears the knob turn though, and the door creak open.  
  
"Mmmfff Amm-ummff," she cries out.  _Go away_ , muffled by her pillow.   
  
Jessica looks at her. "Hyoyeon, my joints hurt. Help?"  
  
"I'm tired," Hyoyeon says. "Aren't you tired? Didn't you just come from a big date?"  
  
"Please?" Jessica says, sitting on the edge of Hyoyeon's bed. "And I wouldn't exactly say it was a 'big' date."  
  
"Alright." Hyoyeon sighs, finally sitting up.   
  
Jessica turns her back towards her, and Hyoyeon starts massaging her shoulders. They stay quiet for a while, and Hyoyeon is figuratively at the edge of her seat wondering when Jessica is going to bring Donghae up. She doesn't though, and it's Hyoyeon who ends up bringing up the subject first.  
  
"How was it?" she asks.   
  
"How was what?" Jessica returns.  
  
"The date," Hyoyeon says. "How was he?"  
  
Jessica shrugs. "He was nice. The date was nice."  
  
"Oh," Hyoyeon says, just continuing kneading Jessica's shoulders. "Oh, okay. That's nice."  
  
Jessica snorts. " _Nice_ ," she repeats, mocking. She turns her head towards Hyoyeon, and there's a little smirk on her face. "You like him don't you?"  
  
"Huh, what?" Hyoyeon pauses her hands. "No I don't."  
  
Jessica laughs. "Yes, you do."  
  
Hyoyeon bits her lower lip. "Don't  _you_?" she asks.  
  
"He's not really my type," Jessica says.  
  
"You went out with him!"  
  
Jessica is almost sputtering with laughter. "Only so I can tell him how great you are," she says, smiling and turning around to face Hyoyeon. "He honestly, really, truly, isn't my type."  
  
Hyoyeon's brow creases, and she stares at Jessica, who just continues smiling, blankly.  
  
"I told him what a great friend you are, what a great cook, how loyal, how sweet, just—" Jessica grins. "Just in general how much of a wonderful girl you are. I think somewhere along I even hinted at how great a girlfriend you will probably make."  
  
"That's stupid," Hyoyeon mumbles, but she feels her cheeks warming up. This is the first time that Jessica, of all people, have said things this nice about her.  
  
"But it's true," Jessica insists, tucking a lost strand of Hyoyeon's hair behind her ear. "Funny thing is, every time I talked about you, it seemed like Donghae had a story to counter mine. He told me a lot of things about when you were younger, you know. He was all enthusiastic too."  
  
Hyoyeon frowns. "We weren't really friends when we were kids though?"  
  
Jessica grins. "Well, he seemed to remember a lot about you anyway."  
  
Hyoyeon shakes her head, and falls back on her mattress.  
  
"By the way, Jessica says, standing up. "I told him I think he likes you."  
  
" _What_?!" Hyoyeon sits right back up. "What?"  
  
Jessica laughs. "And he didn't really deny it. In the end he was all apologetic about the crappy date. I told him not to worry about it, everything is forgiven as long as he stops being stupid."  
  
  
  
  
This story ends where it starts— at a convenience store.  
  
Hyoyeon is on an ice cream run again, this time for herself, because it's scorching hot outside. She's still deciding on the flavor, when she hears someone tapping on the glass window. It's Donghae, and he's waving and smiling at her, a bunch of flyers in one hand.  
  
She raises a hand, and waves back, a little awkwardly, her talk with Jessica still fresh in her mind. She watches as he almost trips over his own feet as he runs to the entrance of the store.  
  
"Hey," he says, grinning at her. "I haven't seen you in at least a week."  
  
She nods, and she finally chooses a pint of mint choco chip ice cream from the freezer. "We've both been busy, I guess."  
  
Donghae shrugs. "I guess."  
  
He walks in step with her towards the counter. "You know," he says, "your roommate has funny ideas about me."  
  
"Does she?" Hyoyeon raises an eyebrow at him as she takes out a couple of bills from her wallet to pay the cashier.  
  
"But she's also very smart," Donghae says, with a very serious expression on his face.  
  
"She is, huh?" Hyoyeon snorts.  
  
"So anyway, I thought about it for days and I realised she's right about me. Can you believe that? She knows me better than me," Donghae declares.  
  
Hyoyeon laughs.  
  
"Anyway, that said, I think I like you," Donghae says, smiling, looking charming as ever.  
  
Hyoyeon looks at him. "You  _think_?"  
  
"Well, gotta start somewhere, yeah?" Donghae asks, grinning.  
  
Hyoyeon laughs again. "Jessica's smart, huh?"  
  
Donghae nods. "Uh-huh."  
  
"And we gotta start somewhere?" Hyoyeon prods.  
  
"Yes," Donghae says.  
  
"You know this entire conversation feels a little anti-climactic."  
  
"Does it?" Donghae frowns.  
  
"But I  _think_  I like you too," Hyoyeon says, smiling.  
  
And then Donghae's mouth breaks out into a big smile, that lovely dimple Hyoyeon has always liked and noticed showing up once more.  
  
  
  
  
//


End file.
